Self-government
This is absurd.
Basically, a bunch of unelected lackeys (incidentally, given that they are a government body, why is their preferred internet domain a .co.uk?) accountable only to London's Scottish colonial rulers have decided that the elected mayor of London has to spend a month on gardening league, to punish him for insulting a journalist.
Nobody voted for the Standards Board for England - they were appointed by the Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer.
Nobody voted for Charlie Falconer, he was appointed (and ennobled) by Tony Blair.
Nobody in London voted for Tony Blair because he represents a constituency in County Durham.
685,541 Londoners voted for Ken Livingstone as their mayor. We did so knowing that he was the kind of person who insults journalists. If we later decide that this was a mistake, we can vote him out.
I can just about see the case for a body to deal with corrupt local officials, although I am assured by the Councillors I know that the eminently non-partisan police, Crown Prosecution Service, and Courts are quite up to the job and that the Standards Board is unnecessary. The only body to punish rude local officials should be the electorate.
Basically, a bunch of unelected lackeys (incidentally, given that they are a government body, why is their preferred internet domain a .co.uk?) accountable only to London's Scottish colonial rulers have decided that the elected mayor of London has to spend a month on gardening league, to punish him for insulting a journalist.
Nobody voted for the Standards Board for England - they were appointed by the Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer.
Nobody voted for Charlie Falconer, he was appointed (and ennobled) by Tony Blair.
Nobody in London voted for Tony Blair because he represents a constituency in County Durham.
685,541 Londoners voted for Ken Livingstone as their mayor. We did so knowing that he was the kind of person who insults journalists. If we later decide that this was a mistake, we can vote him out.
I can just about see the case for a body to deal with corrupt local officials, although I am assured by the Councillors I know that the eminently non-partisan police, Crown Prosecution Service, and Courts are quite up to the job and that the Standards Board is unnecessary. The only body to punish rude local officials should be the electorate.
Labels: UK politics
posted by LibertyCat @ 11:35 pm
2 Comments:
At 4:44 pm ,
Tedj said...
Sounds pretty moderate yet forceful to me.
I'm scottish myself, but an American
At 5:29 pm ,
Anonymous said...
Suppose I am elected Mayor of London in 2008 (yes I know, but let's suppose). What should happen if, in 2009, I sexually harass members of my staff, refuse to employ black people, interfere in planning disputes to the advantage of my friends, and lobby for public funding to charities of which I am a trustee?
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